Take That Back!
by Fake Bliss
Summary: Tenji. Tenten couldn’t believe it. He was underestimating her because she was a kunoichi! Her nostrils flared; how dare he! Not all kunoichi are as he said. The chauvinist little—
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Hey it's me again! Here with another Tenji. I've really got nothing to say so…

^-^ Ja!

_~Fake Bliss_

* * *

Tenten sighed. Here she was, standing in a clearing only a few meters away from the marveled Hyuga Neji. It had been an annoying four months; the only thing Team Gai did so far were ridiculous missions. How in the world was washing someone's dog going to help becoming a great kunoichi?

Ever since hearing Iruka-sensei call out their three names, she was a little uneasy. Dealing with Lee was one thing, but after she met Gai-sensei however, she was convinced that she had the worst luck, and if luck was skill, well, you know.

Lee was as energetic as he was during the academy days, maybe even more. That green spandex was a bit over the top. Not only did she have to see Lee in it, but Gai-sensei as well.

The boy prodigy, aka Hyuga Neji, was unfortunately everything she had expected of 'his type'; he was cold, arrogant, and almost unreadable. Darn his Hyuganess!

And to make matters worse, she completely, entirely, and undoubtedly had a HUGE crush on ice cube…

She was just glad that she didn't show it.

She cleared her throat, "Um Neji." His eyes met hers and she almost melted. Almost, were it not for the fact that she did have some pride. "Shouldn't we start fighting? Lee and Gai-sensei will be wondering what we've done."

"You go do whatever you want to do; I'll be training on my own." With that he turned and started toward a clearing.

"Hey wait! Gai-sensei said that we were sparing partners!"

Neji stopped, not even bothering to turn. "I don't see how training with you will benefit me in the least."

Tenten was dumbstruck; she had a hard enough time believing that she actually liked someone as cold as him, but so did his fangirls, not that that was any consolation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let's face it, Tenten. Your fate is just like all of those other kunoichi."

Tenten frowned, eyebrows knitted together. "My fate?"

"My byakugan can see it all. You're just a kunoichi; lacking in taijutsu, average genjutsu, and barely passable ninjitsu."

Tenten couldn't believe it. He was underestimating her because she was a kunoichi! He hasn't even seen her fight at all yet! All of her soft feelings for him were roughly pushed aside as she gave him a glare worthy of Hyuga Hiashi. Her nostrils flared; how dare he! Not all kunoichi are as he said. The chauvinist little—

Neji narrowed his eyes. "We all that you'll only be good for getting information out of people. Your fate is the same; the only thing kunoichi are good for is seduction really. That in it of itself is wrong. Therefore stating the fact that fate has given kunoichi no real purpose in shinobi life other than to be killed by carelessness because of lack of skill."

_Ouch._

* * *

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Oh dear dear dear. How long has it been since I updated? Two weeks? I apologize for the late update. It's just that I really had no ideas for this fic at all really. I originally wrote it to see how people might respond so sue me. :P

I promise to have the next chapter up sooner. I feel kinda bad since this chapter is pretty short.

T-T

Thanks for reading anyways,

_~Fake Bliss__

* * *

_

_Thwack!!_

The kunai cut the target board in two with deadly accuracy. Tenten took a deep breath._ Enough warm ups. It's time to practice that jutsu._

She tensed, glaring at the wooden dummy positioned in the middle of the clearing. Taking a scroll out of her back pouch, she concentrated on her distance._ One meter. Two meters. Two and a half meters._ She ran around it once and jumped.

_"Here goes!"_

Tenten unfurled her scroll.

_Spin yourself until the scroll's wide enough to not fold on itself. _

Her body obeyed her thoughts, spinning around as if she were the center of a sphere.

_Now assume a normal vertical position and spin clockwise. Faster. Faster. Yes!_

_Pay attention to the frequency of the gaps. Good._

_Once you've accommodated to the frequency of the gaps, summon the weapons._ She bit her thumb running it along a few seals, summoning two kunais and a scythe.

_Now throw!_

There were loud thunks as metal met wood. Tenten's feet hit the ground as the last of her weapons were thrown.

"Darn it!"_ Only about half of them actually hit the dummy. The scroll is throwing off my accuracy._ "It's been two weeks!" Tenten let out an exasperated sigh._ Urgg! How am I supposed to prove Neji wrong like this?!_

It had almost been a month since their little 'incident' and after that, Neji and Tenten had been pretending to have been sparring.

_I haven't been training this hard for nothing! _

_

* * *

_

_.:Flashback:._

_Tenten watched his retreating back with her mouth gaping open; she was speechless. 'I-I…He'_

_"You should close you mouth before flies go in." Tenten was dragged back into the living world by his voice. 'Did he mean it?' She was heart-broken. 'Perhaps I was being stupid. I blame it on those silly fangirls of his, rubbing off on me. What was I thinking? Now I'm starting to believe that it was just a small crush. But I feel so uncertain…_

_My feelings aren't the concern at the moment. He insulted the name of kunoichi. I admit, I'm probably not strong enough to defeat him now, but you watch out Hyuga Neji.'_

_Tenten straightened herself up, determination igniting fire in her eyes. _

_"Gai-sensei. You should be proud. I think I've found the flames of youth. And when I'm ready, I'm going to spread it and Neji's ass is fated to burn."Her voice was dripping with venom, casting an ominous glare across the clearing. The birds seemed to quiet down and the squirrels ran to their holes as weapons tore threw the trees._

_.:End Flashback:._

_

* * *

_

Tenten still couldn't comprehend how he knew her mouth as open. _Probably that byakugan of his. He's always turning it on for no apparent reason; the little bastard._ Tenten couldn't understand why she felt guilty at insulting him, even when it was only in her head.

She smiled slightly, remembering Neji's words, "_The only thing kunoichi are good for is seduction really._"

She jumped from her perch on a tree branch. _Lunch break over._ She laughed, evidently jazzed up from a new motivation.

_Who knows, maybe Neji's a pervert._


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Well, here you go, as promised. I updated sooner. I'll try to update weekly since my chapters are so short. I still feel guilty. *sniff*

For those of you who have read the recent Naruto chapter, I must say this: Oh, My, :CENSORED: the 4th ninja war?! Is that guy serious?!!! All I have to say is this: there better be in some shape or form, some Tenji in there, lol.

I'm still sick…I feel like throwing a rampage. Lucky for you guys I'm compressing my anger into writing (hope I don't crap up the story). This chapter seems kinda filler to me now that I think about it. This is really my first ongoing fic so bear with me!!

I just realized how much of a jerk I make Neji turn out in my fics…Does he seem too OOC?

Thanks,

_~Fake Bliss_

* * *

_.:Flashback (one week previous):._

_Lee crashed to the ground with a loud thump. Tenten looked down in concern and sighed._

"_Lee, you sure don't know when to give up, of course you can't win. Because unlike you, Neji is…is a genius." She hated to say it but she didn't want to see Lee get hurt over this. 'Even my passion is faltering. It's already been a week since __it__ happened and I've hardly made any progress. Whereas Neji,' she looked at said boy. 'Probably mastered like ten jutsus by now.'_

_"It's useless Lee. No matter how hard you work, you cannot defeat me. This is already decided," said Neji. _

_Tenten's gaze shifted back to Lee. 'Lee, don't push yourself. Maybe Neji's right. People like you and I can't hope to catch up to—'_

_"I do not care what he is!" Lee shouted. Tenten looked at him in shock. "I will defeat him one way or the other!"_

_She smiled softly. 'Maybe I should try too.'_

_.:End Flashback:._

* * *

Tenten ran as fast as she could through the village to Team Gai's training grounds. _Oh God I'm late. Oh God I'm late. OH GOD I'M LATE!!_

In truth, Tenten was really only late by a few minutes. _It's not my fault that I woke up with __something__ on the bed._ Tenten thought sadly. _Why did my first have to happen on a training day?_

"Tenten-san! Tenten-san!" A blur of green knocked her off her feet. "I was so worried Tenten-san! I thought you were kidnapped or… or…kidnapped."

"I'm fine, Lee. See? No bumps, no bruises."

"In that case you have no excuse." Neji's glare was hard.

_Jeez…he's pissed that it took off what? five minutes from his training time?_ Tenten glared right back.

"Oh my dearest Tenten!" _Oh. God. Gai-sensei._ "It is so unyouthful to be late! Now look at my gorgeous face and make a youthful promise that you will never be tardy again."

Tenten looked at him reluctantly. "Err…I promise?"

"YOSH! Now we can all commence in the new youthful exercises I've come up with! Before we spar, we shall do our pre-warm up, our warm up, our pre-post warm up, our post warm up, and then the muscle stretchers! Let's begin with 200 laps around Konoha! Let your youth go up in flames and ignite your hearts! GO!" Gai's green streak faded into the distance.

"Here I come, Gai-sensei!" Lee proclaimed before he too, disappeared.

Tenten sighed bitterly but began running none the less. _Great, just great._

* * *

Tenten fell onto the grass panting very hard. Her clothes slung to her body is much that they felt more like a layer of skin. She would've torn it off and just worn the tank top underneath had it not been for the fact that doing so in front of Neji was liable to make her embarrassed. _Most likely to faint too._ If this was just Gai's new warm up regimen, every day was going to be worse than Hell. _I've already taken a shower into my own sweat before training actually started! Why am I cursed with such a sensei?_

She looked at her teammates. Rock Lee seemed a little fatigued and he was panting as well, though not as badly as Tenten was. Neji, not being the speed specialist that Lee was, was trying to catch his breath. He was a lot worse than Lee, but still not in Tenten's exhausted state.

"Lee, where do you get your energy?" She mumbled, turning her head towards the sky.

She failed to notice the pair of eyes that looked at her at minute intervals.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Here's the next chapter!

Thanks for all of the reviews! ^-^ seriously

Have a pleasant day,

_~Fake Bliss_

* * *

Tenten headed to the training grounds the next day, trying to think of a way to make Gai's "warm-ups" easier to deal with. Her thoughts trailed to Lee. He was so confident and shr thank him for it. _I'm not sure how I would end up if he wasn't there. We didn't even have to be talking to each other to make me smile. Neji. Even now I'm still not sure what I think of him._

She arrived at the training grounds to find that Lee and Neji already there. Lee was doing God knows how many push-ups and Neji sat cross legged, eyes closed, meditating. Tenten inwardly scoffed. What kind of crazy person can remain that still for that long?

"Good morning my faithful students!" Gai-sensei's thundering voice nearly made her jump. _I wish that he would mark himself present in a different way. _

Tenten groaned. _Just brilliant. Here comes hell._

"Today we're doing something a little different."

She looked at him, confused. _Different? What kind of different?_

"Oh, how long it's been since you graduated from the academy? Two years? Three?" Gai looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Gai-sensei. it's only been four months," Tenten said, rolling her eyes.

"Ah! So it has! So it has. A youthful four months indeed. I would like to evaluate the skills you have attained thus far." Gai-sensei beamed at the trio.

"YOSH! Gai-sensei! I shall show you the extent of my youth!" Lee looked like a kid in a candy store. Tenten was pretty sure she didn't. _I haven't even mastered my first scroll completely._ _Neji who seems indifferent as usual. Not that I was paying that much attention to him. I wasn't I swear._

* * *

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

Tenten's eyes widened in surprise and admiration at the sight of Rock Lee's attack.

Neji caught Lee's leg with his right palm, his chakra invading Lee's system. Lee groaned at the pain but reacted with a well aimed punch at the Hyuga. Neji ducked with ease. Still holding Lee's leg so he couldn't get away, he set off a barrage of juuken using only his left hand. Lee skidded across the ground to a stop at the base of a tree.

The two boys panted heavily, though Lee more than Neji. They had been at it for what Tenten counted as little over ten minutes.

"I will not lose this time Neji!" Lee let out a battle cry and charged only to be knocked back, trembling on the grass.

"How many times must I explain this to you this before you get it," Neji said coldly. "No matter how hard you—"

"Lee, get your ass up!" Tenten shouted. Lee remained on the ground. She would not, could not let the boy who tried so hard to surpass a genius just lay there. There was a tense silence.

Tenten had a sharp intake of breath. Lee stood up. His green outfit was tattered with blood and his one of his legs shook dangerously under his weight. His left eye was closed and his cheeks swelled slightly.

Tenten looked over at Gai who was uncharacteristically quiet. She opened her mouth to ask for him to stop the match when:

"Such colorful language is unyouthful Tenten-san." Lee gave the trademark grin and 'ping.'

Lee charged at Neji once more.

* * *

Tenten stood in the same clearing in which Lee's battle had taken place. She looked over at Lee who was resting on a tree, unconscious. He had lost the battle, but gained her utmost respect. Neji looked at her uncaringly as if a glare alone could wipe her out.

"I am so excited!" Gai's voice pierced the silence. "The youthful bonds that dear Neji and Tenten have obtained by is pulsing through the air! I can feel the youthful energy!"

Neji glared at Gai. It was obvious that he disliked being called "dear." Tenten giggled at this.

"Now my youthful students, begin!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Here's another addition to our little story.

Happy belated to the Internet (Thursday)

Hope Halloween was ok for ya and if you don't celebrate it well I hope you had a happy…Saturday?

Thanks,

_~Fake Bliss_

* * *

"Are you just going to stand there?" Neji's voice sounded slightly irritated.

Tenten snapped out of her daze. She had been so absorbed in trying to figure out a plan that she almost forgot where she was! She bit her lip, her eyes downcast. _Think, think._

"Hn." Neji's grunt made her look up. His activated kekkei genkai startled her. "You can't hope to defeat me if you aren't even emotionally controlled."

Tenten looked away.

"You've seen Lee's performance and know you can't do better which makes you angry at yourself. You have taken a while evaluating my strength and looking for any weaknesses but cannot find any that someone of your level cam use against me."

Tenten tried to hide the shock in her eyes. _How did he…?_

"After finding that conclusion, you have evaluated your strengths but have found no way to make yourself the least bit stronger for this spar. This has caused you to become desperate in thinking of a strategy which is making you shake at this very moment."

Tenten inwardly cursed at herself.

"Now you curse yourself for making such foolish mistakes and still idiotically leaving yourself open for me to attack you."

There was a silence.

"Why," Tenten whispered.

"Why, what?" came Neji's reply.

"Why didn't you attack me?"

"It would be shameful for someone like myself to do something so low in this situation."

At this point, Gai's huge eyebrows were furrowed. _This isn't the behavior of two teammates that have been spending time together for awhile._

Tenten bit harder into her lip. _What should I do? What should I do? What should I… What am I saying? I'm not just going to let him worm me out through __words__. _She looked up, determined. _Time's a wasting. Let's get this party started!_

It would have been a nice little empowerment speech and beginning for her, were it not for the fact that Neji was tired of waiting. For the moment Tenten looked up, Neji was in front of her face. Before she could move she was hit with what felt like thirty needles.

She crashed to the ground.

"However, such a thing cannot be said when I have as little patience as I do now."

Tenten got to her knees, clutching her side. _Bastard. This hurts more than it looks._

"GO TENTEN-SAN!"

Tenten's eyes widened in surprise. Lee had woken up! _That little green fuzz-ball wouldn't give up, so why should I?_

Tenten was on her feet in less than a second, each hand holding five shuriken. She launched the shuriken, leaping back as she did. Neji deflected and dodged her weapons, quickly trying to close the gap between them. She backed off but he was too fast, managing to nick her left forearm.

She leapt into the air throwing several kunai and shuriken as she did. He dodged them as expected, and was already less than two meters away from her as she landed on the ground. _Darn it!_ Her hand found her scroll in her back pouch. _No, I haven't perfected it yet. _

"You need to pay more attention." Tenten fazed back into the world just in time to get hit by another barrage of chakra filled pokes and jabs.

She stood meters away from Neji, panting slightly._ I'm better than this. Remember what he said to you?! How angry that made you? You were mad enough to start rambling about how the fire of youth got to you!_

Tenten threw more shuriken and kicked off from the ground into the air. She spun upside down, several kunai on her fingers. She released them simultaneously, and they whizzed at expert speed towards Neji, clanging against each other so that they came to him from every direction.

...

Neji dodged as best as he could, but got hit in the side with a few kunai. _She's better than I thought._ His eye caught something on one of the fallen kunai. _A paper bomb!_ He thrust himself to the right but there was no explosion. _A fake. _

Tenten took this opening and gave another aerial attack. Neji dodged. He noticed again, that there was something on a kunai. _Another paper bomb? This one must be real. Simple trick._ He moved to the right again…but there was no explosion. Neji's eyes widened slightly. _Another fake?_

Tenten smiled as she landed to his left and whipped out more kunai, throwing them firecly. He parried again, now charging at full speed, a smirk adorning his face. _You almost lured me into the smaller area to the right. Too bad it didn't work._ She slowed him with more weapons, but he still advanced, the gap between them closing.

"Eight trigrams! Sixty-four palms!"

Tenten crashed harshly against a tree, blood spurted out of her mouth.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Yay! Those reviews got me jazzed up so thank you all~!! I had so much fun writing the last chapter as well as this one. We had a day off from school yesterday so I had time to write!

I've got nothing to say so without further adieu…

Thanks,

_~Fake Bliss_

* * *

Neji's shadow towered over Tenten's small figure against the tree. "Nice try," he said.

Tenten looked up and her smile puzzled him. "You need to pay more attention."

Neji's eyes widened in astonishment as Tenten's body disappeared in a puff of smoke to be replaced with a log. _Substitution jutsu?!_ Neji hurled himself to the side just before several shuriken hit the tree. Attached to one of the shuriken was a— _paper bomb?_ Neji started toward the right but before he could get far a kunai flew in front of him, stopping him. _Another paper bomb on the kunai? It's fake… Is she trying to get me into a certain location?_

Neji looked back at the shuriken previously thrown; it was only a meter away. He almost turned away before something caught his eye. A tiny spark was at the edge of the paper.

There was a huge explosion.

…

Neji clutched his left side feebly, his whole body shaking. The entire left side of his body was in rags, charred and scorched by the ferocity of the bomb. His byakugan scanned the field. There, no more than three meters away from him, stood the real Tenten. Her face glistened with sweat as she tried to catch her breath. Her hair and clothes clung to her body not to differently than the day before.

Tenten panted heavily, her heart pounding for reasons she was sure were beyond the fact that she was able to injure the infamous Hyuga Neji. _It's not over yet._ She reached into her back pouch to find only four kunai. _I can't be out, not now!_

Neji's ears perked to the sound of whizzing and he looked up to see four kunai making their way towards him. He swerved out of the way before launching a few kunai of his own. Tenten jumped up before pulling the kunai back to herself and then aimed them expertly at Neji. He dodged again, eyeing the kunai closely. _Wires?_

They continued this pattern; Tenten aimed the same kunai over and over at Neji who in return parried and tried another failed attack. Neji gritted his teeth. _This is taking too long._ With that he waited until the kunai came close and ducked at the last minute, cutting the wires from below.

_Oh crap!!_ Tenten cursed. Neji took this moment of her confusion to careen forward, palms at the ready. Tenten made to block, but Neji was too fast. He knocked her back with two hard jabs to the chest.

"Damn!" she cursed as blood splatterd from her mouth.

She collided to the ground with a hard _crack!_

* * *

"Tenten-san! Tenten-san!"

Tenten opened her eyes, slowly taking in her surroundings. Her eyes met milky white walls and as she took her time sitting up, noted how much her back ached.

"Oh Tenten-san! You're alive!" Before she knew what was going on, warm arms were wrapped around her.

"Yes, very nice Lee," Tenten managed to wheeze out. "But I can't breathe."

"Sorry!" Tenten became aware of her company. Lee was bouncing around the small hospital room, proclaiming his thoughts on youth. _Wait a second, where's Gai-sensei and Neji and the training field?_ She was about to word her thoughts but was disrupted when a nurse barged into the room with an irritated look on her face.

"You! For the millionth time get _out!_" With that the nurse shoved Rock Lee out of the door and turned towards Tenten.

She looked around the early thirties, with her auburn hair and slight bags under her eyes, she seemed to know more than her appearance let on. Broad eyes had shown a sense of kindness and her bright aura told Tenten that she probably didn't have any trouble attracting attention. Sighing, the woman examined her clipboard and flashed Tenten a smile. "Tenten, correct?" Tenten nodded. "I'm Masaki."

"Um, hi," Tenten said softly, she really just wanted to leave.

"Your injuries are quite something. A mission, I presume?"

Tenten bit her lip. "I was…sparring with a teammate."

"Sparring? I knew that man was crazy," Masaki muttered, more to herself than Tenten. "Alright." She said a little louder. "You had bad punctures to the small intestines and you almost damaged your lungs. Your back wasn't in pretty good shape but nothing too serious. I wanted you to stay another night but your sensei is…_confident_ that you'll be alright. You are to come by for a check-up tomorrow morning and every day for the rest of this week after just to be sure your wounds don't open. You'll also get a follow up a month from next Wednesday, alright?"

"Okay." Tenten hopped out of bed, groaning slightly from the pain in her back. _It didn't seem to hurt during the fight._ "Um Masaki-sensei?"

"Yes?" the woman answered.

"How long exactly have I been here?" Tenten asked.

"Oh, only overnight," Masaki said casually, as if it wasn't unusual. "If I may, most of your injuries were internal, you are only a genin, and if it was just a simple spar, who was your opponent exactly?"

Tenten gulped, a little part of her didn't want to rat Neji out. "Um, just a teammate," she repeated. "We just got a little carried away. That's all."

Masaki didn't look very convinced but let it slide. She opened the door slowly. "Well, your team was here for a while and returned this morning."

In the waiting room sat Gai, Lee, and Neji. Well, Neji was the only one really sitting, but it makes a nicer formality, does it not? At the sight of her, Lee jumped with delight. "Tenten-san!"

His attempt to "hug" Tenten was blocked by an irritated Masaki. "Please that won't be necessary. I don't want Tenten's wounds to open up."

"Oh, my youthful flower! You have recovered, and as a celebration, we shall all have lunch together!"

"Gai-sensei that's really not necessary. You guys shouldn't even be here, you could have been training or, or something." Tenten had no intention of looking that weak in front of Neji. She didn't even expect Neji to be here, but from the looks of it, Gai probably made him come. Speaking of Neji, Tenten was astonished by his appearance.

If it weren't for his long hair and normal attire, Tenten would've mistaken Neji for someone else. He looked almost mummy like. His normal hand and leg wraps were replaced with bandages bound so tight that Tenten could actually notice his hidden struggle of even standing up. Clearly Tenten's little paper bomb gave more damage than she expected. Her eyes closed guiltily. _I didn't mean to hurt him that much. He's covered from head to foot in bandages! I should apologize…_

Masaki cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention. Tenten noted how her eyes travelled from Neji to her in realization. The nurse eyed him darkly but let it off, turning towards Gai.

* * *

Tenten's neck burned as she fidgeted in her seat next to the Hyuga prodigy. Gai had taken them to lunch after all, and the team was sitting in a respectable tea house. She gave a small smile at Gai and Lee's constant jabbering but said nothing. _Why do I feel so guilty? Neji got want he deserved after all he said to Lee and I._ She looked at him from the corner of her eye. He sat silently, not looking at anything in particular.

A rustle from behind made Tenten turn around. Standing behind one of the building's support columns, was a group of girls. A note of annoyance passed through Tenten. She glanced back at Neji. _This guy __still__ has fan-girls? I thought they all would've gone away after we graduated._

She eyed Neji. What was so good about Neji anyway? Sure, she had her own little crush on him too but it went away. Her pupils found his chocolate locks; it looked so soft. It made her want to just reach out and touch it— _Wait, what am I thinking?!_ Tenten examined her emotions for a minute. _I can't possibly still like the boy who told me I was only good for seduction!_ Her thoughts grew quiet for a moment. She turned back, grinning to herself. _But if you think about it…_

"What's so funny?" She turned to meet his gaze. His eyes, however piercing and cold, made her tingle all over.

"I-I n-nothing." She stuttered out, inwardly smacking herself. His mouth parted, as if to say something but his comment was put on hold by Gai's voice.

"Lee! Lee calm down! Please sit!" Their heads snapped towards the rest of their party. Gai was trying to restrain a hysterical Lee who was struggling out of Gai's grip. When he accomplished such he jumped around, his face hosting a silly smile.

"I'm perfectly fine Gai-sensei! Let's dance in tribute to the fiery flames of youth!" Lee jumped on the small table and shook his body around in random directions that evidently was dancing.

"Lee!" Gai successfully pulled Lee off the table, but that only seemed to anger him.

"Why can't I have some fun? If this is how it's going to be Fatbrow-sensei, then you're going to have to catch me."

The tea house was thrown into chaos at the rage of a drunken Rock Lee.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Chapter 7 already?! I thought I'd never see the day.

I went to my first con on 11/8. I cosplayed as Tenten and I was the only one! I wasn't really surprised though. The day went from GOOD to UGH when some random guy that was cosplaying Sasuke ran up and glomped me from behind. *shudders*

Well, anyways… I just realized how much I talk about Tenten! Neji needs some screen time!

And yes, there is a little Leeten in this, but so what?! Sue me XP

Thanks,

_~Fake Bliss_

Tenten sat on the bench, her head in her hands. She was fighting a losing battle to get the previous week's events out of her mind. _I-I lost. I lost._ She blinked back tears. She was a kunoichi; a shinobi. She would not, could not cry. Her body was shaking, lips trembling. Her control was faltering, she knew she would crack.

"Tenten-san?"

She turned slowly, trying to calm herself down. Who she saw made her eyes widen a little. His bright green outfit matched the gates of Konoha in the background. His bright eyes radiated warmth not unlike the sunlight fading from the tips of the gates as the sun set. She forced a smile. "Hey Lee, um… what's up?"

Lee's eyes lowered knowingly, his hyper attitude gone. "What's wrong Tenten-san?"

"Tenten," she corrected. "Just Tenten."

Lee walked over and sat down beside her. "Tenten." His voice was soft, gentle. "Why are you so down?"

Tenten looked at him. "What are you talking about? I'm perfectly—"

"—fine?" He finished. "Then why has your aim been slightly off and your enthusiasm wearing away for the past week?"

Tenten sighed. There was little she could hide from Lee. He was her friend, her best friend if she was bold enough to say. Whenever she was down, his smile would encourage her to get back up (which in her opinion was really something considering the ridiculous training Gai-sensei put them through). His resilience had given her courage to continue pushing herself, to get up every morning and try harder, to strengthen herself. She knew little to nothing about Lee and his family nor his past, and yet she felt that it was Lee with whom she could connect to most. For that, he was her best friend. Tenten even got the vibe that he too might have felt that way.

"I'm not sure," she mumbled.

"Oh Tenten." His eyes were sad. "I think you do."

There was a long pause.

Tenten was still trembling and slowly, ever so slowly, her lips parted. "I…Neji. He said, he said…something to me that made me angry. I vowed to defeat him the next time I fought him, to prove what he said was wrong."

Lee's bushy eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? Neji isn't, he isn't…" Lee's words faded. "He is your sparring partner. I know Neji isn't the happiest person, but he is…"

Tenten looked at the ground. "Sparring partner in name only. The only time he ever fought me was in the battle that I, that I—"

"—lost?" Lee finished her sentence again.

Before he could open his mouth again, Tenten began speaking. "He never sparred with me, Lee. We've just been pretending that we have. If he found out that I was telling you this, he'd be worse than angry at me."

It felt so good to have someone to confide to. The strain on her shoulders was lifted and she could almost hug Lee. She looked at him, her eyes almost pleading. "And I don't want him to be mad at me." She knew how desperate she sounded and regretted it, but it just felt so…so…she couldn't describe it.

"And I trained so hard, Lee! I almost accomplished this new jutsu but Gai-sensei made us fight!" She was almost screaming. "And I lost terribly." Her voice was quiet now, her eyes almost in tears. "I feel worse now, Lee. I mastered that jutsu the very next day!" Tears forced themselves down her cheeks. "I couldn't show him."

She clutched her sides. She was angry. She was angry at herself for not mastering her jutsu in time. She was angry that she lost to Neji even after everything she put herself through. And most of all, she was angry how weak she was acting in front of one of the people she admired most.

She heard Lee chuckle softly and she looked back at him. He gave her a heartwarming smile. "Your stronger than you give yourself credit for, Tenten. You came closer to defeating him than I did. You forced him to be serious."

"That's only because he never fought me before. He knows your style better than mine."

Lee sighed. "Alright, you lost. But so what?" Her eyes widened slightly. "There's always a next time. Where would I be if I gave up a first time? It's like you told me. 'You've got to face facts, Neji is a genius.' Well, you're right. Neji _is_ a genius. But Gai-sensei always says that I am a genius of hard work." He puffed out his chest proudly. "I believe there are two types of genius; the naturally gifted, and the hardworkers."

"But that's what you are Lee. Not me. I'm no one, I'm no genius. You and Neji are different. You guys were destined to be strong." She looked at the ground again. "I was meant to be the weak link, to be the one who grudgingly excepts that I would never survive without—"

"Tenten." Lee interrupted, his hand placed gently on hers. "You have been around Neji for too long. Do you remember how I was at the academy?" She nodded. "Gai-sensei showed me how to be strong too, to be my own type of genius. That is not to different for you, and I think you know it. You are just still in shock from the result of your spar. You are stronger now, yes?" She nodded again and he smiled. "Then find your courage and fight him again! Show him that whatever he said to you was wrong! I believe in you Tenten."

Tenten's heart was warm. Lee cared, he believed in her. She had always wondered what it was like to have someone feel like that for you. She had remembered how envious she had felt of those academy students who had their parents to make them feel proud of themselves.

She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you, Lee." She wanted to say so much, but couldn't find the words. She hoped that her single gesture would tell him. He must have understood because he hugged her back.

They pulled away and she grinned at him almost teasingly. "So, I noticed you've got your eye on that pink-haired girl at the academy. Spill."

She laughed at his now crimson face.

_Lee,_

_You'll make one girl very happy one day._

* * *

Neji loathed the main house. It was full of arrogant snakes who only sought the happiness of themselves, of what was good for them. The lower branch was just there for their benefit. All side branch members were born to serve them, destined to live for them, to work for them. He knew that like his father, he was no exception.

Why did fate give him such a destiny? It was only in his older years that he realized that he was truly a caged bird. That in time of desperation, the most he could ever do was peer through the bars. Even now he gave up that little hope that the Hyuga family could change, that they could be equal, that he could fly free. He cursed the little part of his heart that still dreamed of flying, of changing fate; because anyone with sense knows that you cannot.

The two halves of the Hyuga only ate together during dinner, while breakfast and lunch was eaten separately. Neji didn't mind this, for he truly disliked even being in their presence. It was in his defiance that he was teaching himself techniques that only the main branch should know, and he admitted to himself that he enjoyed his small rebellion. He sat quietly, for he knew not how to do otherwise, going over and over the kaiten. He had no idea how to do it, but he had witnessed it being used long enough to know what some of the basics were. However, he was nowhere near achieving his goal.

"Hey, what's up Neji?"

Neji's head throbbed with displeasure at the sound of that voice. It was _him_. Nonetheless Neji turned and gave a swift nod.

"Hey, no need to be so cold. Lighten up, man." Hideki sloppily sat down next to him.

Hyuga Hideki was a rather rambunctious chuunin, two years his senior. Neji knew not how the boy became a chuunin, with his unruly brown hair and rather informal aura. Hideki, much to Neji's annoyance, had wanted to befriend him, saying that he was an "antisocial weirdo who desperately needed help." As if Neji wanted to make friends with a loud, stupid, boisterous misfit who only seemed to get into trouble. No, Neji kept their little "relationship" private.

There was a long pause.

"So how's you're team? I heard you got that Maito Gai for a sensei. That's gotta be cool." Hideki gave him a grin.

Neji snorted. "You should act your age."

"I do," Hideki said, pointing his chopsticks toward Neji. "You're the one who needs a personality check. You're almost thirteen years old, you're the so-called 'Hyuga prodigy,' you've got a huge fan club that any sixteen year old boy would want, and yet you act like you've got a stick up your butt."

Neji scoffed. "Is this conversation supposed to go anywhere? Because if it isn't, I have to meet my team." With that Neji got up and left the dining room, thankful for the first time that he had Gai as a sensei, seeing as he was probably the only one requiring them to meet at six in the morning.

"Take it easy Neji! I know you're the Hyuga prodigy, but you still have those burns! Heh, what did you do anyway? Try to catch a girl but she was too hot for ya? Ha ha. I wouldn't be surprised."

_Pfft_,_ Idiot._ Neji continued out of the manor.

* * *

"Hey Neji."

Neji grimaced. Great, it was _him_ again. Neji had woken up early, eaten breakfast early, and even stood outside the gates of the Hyuga manor just to find a moment away from Hideki, and the boy had still managed to bother him.

"You ditched me yesterday. You know if you want to make friends, you shouldn't ditch people. 'Cause it's really a turn off."

Silence was exchanged.

"Hey, so I saw you with your team yesterday. Did two C ranks in a day, huh?"

Neji didn't know whether that was a taunt or just a comment.

"So you—"

"HEY NEJI!"

To Neji's relief, Tenten was bounding toward the manor. Wait, what? What was _Tenten_ doing here at nearly five o'clock in the morning?

"Why are you here Tenten?" Neji inquired.

Tenten straitened from her former position of leaning on her knees. Neji thought she looked better than she did for the past week. She was fully awake, she seemed cheery and there was even a smile upon her face.

"I got a message from Lee. Gai-sensei wants us to meet him an hour early today. Lee was supposed to notify you but I didn't think you'd want that loud of a wake up call." She gave a shaky laugh, her voice fading as she talked. She seemed preoccupied with something. That something, Neji realized a moment later, was his bandages.

Hideki must have noticed her constant staring as well because he said, "See something you like?"

That snapped Tenten out of her gaze. She flushed softly before giving Hideki an irritated look. "And you are?"

"Ah, how rude of me not to introduce myself," Hideki said, the air around him suddenly seeming uncharacteristically Neji-like. "I'm Hyuga Hideki, Neji's cousin." He stuck out his hand.

Tenten gave him a small smile before taking it. "Tenten."

This was one of the reasons why Neji disliked Hideki. The boy would act formal around everyone unless he found that he could be himself around them. No one saw the annoying side, the REAL side, of that boy. "Shall we go then?"

Tenten's face grew a slightly darker shade. "As in together, 'go?'"

He glared at her is if she was stupid. "Is there any other way?"

Tenten's eyes darted from his face to his bandages. "I-I have somewhere to stop before training. I'll meet you there." Tenten darted away.

The two Hyuga stood there for a while.

"What did you do?" Hideki asked.

"What are you blathering about?" Neji replied, slightly confused.

Hideki shook his head. "Some people are just idiots," he mumbled to himself as he walked back into the manor.

Neji pulled back a punch. He was not just called an idiot by that boy.

* * *

Neji leaned against a tree, his eyes closed, blocking out Gai and Lee's antics again. Where was Tenten? She said she'd be here. Unless she was rushing over, she would probably be late again. Didn't she know that she would be taking time away from his training? He scoffed. She was probably doing her hair or something just as unimportant and stupid. _Che, kunoichi._

"Oh no!"

Neji cracked an eye open. Gai was looking about ready to burst into tears. "Our dear Tenten will be late unless she arrives in five, four, three, two—"

"I'm here!" Tenten arrived blissfully towards the training grounds.

Gai's face brightened. "Beautiful, Tenten! I knew you wouldn't be late again! Ah! I see now! Instead of being early or late, you decided to come on time so that you wouldn't have to wait nor keep others waiting! Excellent strategy!"

Neji and Tenten sweat dropped.

"So why are we here early Gai-sensei?" Tenten asked.

"This is a new system that I have created! Since missions take out most of our normal training time, we'll simply come early before and stay late afterwards to make up for the lost time!" Gai gave his infamous good guy pose.

Neji rolled his eyes. _The idiocy of some people._

_Is he serious?!_ Tenten's jaw almost dropped. _That'll overexert me! I'll die of fatigue alone._

Lee's reaction however was slightly different. "Yosh Gai-sensei! Your plan is simply ingenious! What shall we do first sensei?!"

Gai beamed at them all. "Well, start with an easy fifty laps around Konoha!"

* * *

Tenten was utterly confused. She was fighting over whether or not to apologize, hold a grudge against, or totally ignore the boy running almost alongside her. Although it had been another week and his bandages were long gone, it was obvious that despite his pride and ego pushing him to continue, Hyuga Neji was struggling to finish his last lap. Tenten was angry at herself for hurting him and yet another part of her sadistically laughed at his struggle.

She had a right to be angry, didn't she? He made an assumption about her without even knowing the real her, obviously hurting her a lot, and yet he acted like it was nothing! Like their conversation never happened! He was still refusing to train with her even after their spar. What, was that not good enough for him? She wanted to knock that smirk off of his face once and for all. It was time to take Lee's advice.

…

"Hey, hey Neji!" Tenten called out to his retreating back.

He turned, seeming uninterested. "What is it?"

She looked back. Gai and Lee were now in the background, still doing their crazy training routines. She caught Lee's eye and he nodded encouragingly as he did his push-ups.

She turned back to Neji and took a deep breath. "I want you to fight me again." She took another deep breath. "And if I win, you have to agree to spar with me from now on."

Neji cocked his head slightly, as if considering her. "What's in it for me?"

She was taken aback. She never expected him to say that.

He smirked at her. "You didn't expect me to just agree did you?"

"Okay. If you win, I'll…" She racked her brain for something Hyuga Neji would want of her but she couldn't think of anything. Determination flashed through her eyes. She was prepared for the ultimate sacrifice.

--

"If you win, I'll do anything you want me to."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Well, *sniff* I'm sad yet happy to announce that this is the last chapter. To be honest, I hate this chapter. Thank you my faithful reviewers! I've completed my first on going fic! It may seem little to you but it feels great to me.

Yes, I took longer than usual, but in my defense, I…I'm writing on impulse! Yeah that's right. I WROTE THIS WHOLE STORY ON IMPULSE.

But enough of my terrible excuses! You just came to read this fic. Happy Holidays!!

Oh yeah, and before I forget, I only came to warn you that the ending is cheesy and probably cliché.

Thank you and have a pleasant day,

_~Fake Bliss_

* * *

Neji parried various jabs and swipes, though only just barely. He was at a great disadvantage. A blow came to his right and he smacked the hand away, aiming his own chakra filled hand at his opponent's heart. His opponent easily caught his hand however, and held up his other hand, signally them to stop.

Hyuga Hiashi looked over to one of the edges of the training area where two Hyuga were sitting, watching. "Did you see all of that, Hanabi, Hinata?"

"Hai," The two girls chorused.

There was a silence.

"Go to the kitchens and fetch some tea," the Hyuga head ordered.

Once Hinata and Hanabi left, Hiashi averted his attention back to Neji. "Neji, I have something to ask." He gestured toward the edge of the porch that Hinata and Hanabi had just vacated.

"Yes, Hiashi-sama?" Neji fought hard not to crack under Hiashi's studying look. They sat.

"You have not been fighting as you normally do this evening." It was not a question. "Is there something bothering you?"

"No, sir," Neji replied. He was pretty sure Hiashi knew that he was lying.

Neji had been preoccupied with thoughts of his bun-haired teammate. He had barely won the last time he fought her and was intrigued by her determination to win, even though it was obvious to him that she'd never accomplish such a thing. He had accepted her deal, but now he was regretting his actions. Tenten had proved to be a lot stronger than he had expected, not that he'd ever admit that. Her attack style disturbed him; she was a long range fighter and from what he could tell, had scarily accurate aim. Strategies were created and discarded the longer he thought about it.

"I see," was Hiashi's answer. "Whatever the problem is, do find a way to resolve it. Such emotionally affected actions could lead to your demise in the future." Neji was sure that Hiashi would've said more, but Hinata and Hanabi had arrived with a tray of tea.

"Come Hanabi." Hiashi and Hanabi headed toward the center of the field and soon began their training, leaving Hinata with Neji.

The Hyuga heiress fidgeted with her fingers as she thought of something to say. When Neji was pretty sure she was about to say something, she was disrupted before she even began.

"Good evening Hinata-san, Neji." Neji twitched with irritation. That boy was even more annoying than Lee.

"Good evening Hideki-san." Hinata's voice was as soft and nervous as ever. Neji remained silent.

"What's wrong Neji? Cat got your tongue?" Hyuga Hideki slid in between Neji and Hinata.

Neji didn't reply. He struck it odd that Hideki referred to Hinata as "Hinata-san" as opposed to "Hinata-sama," as anyone with proper respect would say.

"So, what's going on with you Hinata-san?" Hideki inquired.

"Nothing, I'm fine," was her answer.

Hideki laughed. "That's what you say when everything _isn't_ fine. How's you're taijutsu looking?" He asked the question as if this wasn't their first talk.

Hinata's fingers seemed to dance at the high speed they were moving. "It's um, fine."

Hideki laughed again. "If your father would allow it, I would offer to help, but I'm pretty sure there's only one person he'd allow to coach you." He looked at Neji.

"Anyway, Neji. I spoke with your teammate sometime after your training. She seemed...agitated. Did you do anything that was _out there_ during training today?"

Neji shot him an annoyed look. "I don't see how that's any of your business." He got up.

"When I brought up the subject of you, she started ranting about how much of a jerk you are. Trouble in paradise?"

"I don't owe you an explanation," Neji spat and left swiftly. Neji hated how Hideki acted. He hated his loose attitude and how he was so laid back even though he too was chained by fate. He hated how Hideki tried to probe his mind and try to sympathize with him.

He needed time to think of a way around the "fighting Tenten" problem and Hideki wasn't helping.

--

--

Neji would never admit it, but just the thought of having to fight Tenten the next day made him groan.

* * *

Tenten wasn't exactly having a beautiful evening either. She paced back and forth in her small apartment going over different strategies. Her weapons and equipment were sprawled over the floor, as if they were all under testing to see which the best of the best were.

Sighing, she fell on her bed.

_Tenten sat in Konoha's most famous dango shop with a frown on her face. Her thoughts were swimming like mad._

_Sure, she sounded tough earlier, but did she have the skills to back it up? Lee was kind and encouraging, but even that didn't seem enough. It would take skill to beat Neji, not guts. Maybe she was putting too much thought into it. She may have gotten stronger, but it wasn't like Neji was just lying around doing nothing. He was surely stronger now as well. And there was that 'eight trigrams sixty-four palms' jutsu. What __was__ that? Is she hadn't used substitution, she was sure she'd be in the hospital much longer than overnight._

"_Hey, is this seat taken?" Tenten looked up, it was Neji's cousin, Hidachi or something like that._

"_That depends on whether or not I'm sitting in this one while you're sitting in that one."_

_He recoiled, his hands up, "Oops, my bad."_

_She sent him a small smile. "Sit down, fool." _

_He sat and Tenten took that time to take in his appearance. His hair was short, black, and looked like he'd just been blown by a gust of wind blowing to the right. He had a rebel look on his face that almost challenged you to a fight. He wore a mesh shirt under his unzipped chuunin vest and had dark cargo pants. Not your typical Hyuga._

"_So what is it you came to say?"_

Tenten smacked her forehead. She had told someone she barely knew, who she might add was related to _Neji_, about her whole relationship _with_ Neji. _I am a complete idiot. He gave some pretty good advice though...Arg!_ She rolled on her side. _I should've just talked to Lee._ Despite the fact that she was lying in her secure apartment, which had around fifty booby traps around her quarters, she felt terribly vulnerable to attack.

* * *

Tenten dodged two strikes to the left, a strike to the right, and another strike to the left, almost pirouetting around the training field. She reached for a kunai but received several jabs in the side before she could even touch her holster.

She back flipped to the other side of the field, panting lightly. They had been at simple cat and mouse antics since the beginning of their fight, their roles switching every few seconds.

She charged, armed with either a kunai or shuriken on each finger. She kicked off the ground, flipping gracefully in the air and aimed all the weapons at Neji. The sounds of the weapons clashing together echoed through the clearing.

Neji, who learned his lesson from the last time they fought, easily dodged the barrage. He redirected a few of her weapons combined with his at her as she made her way to the ground. Tenten quickly shot out wires onto several trees and swerved out of the way.

She released the wires and ran around him in a circle. _Five meters._

Neji stood in the Hyuga style pose, his byakugan watching Tenten as she ran around him. _She attacks at several directions at the same time_. _Her weapon accuracy really does give her an edge. I need to drag her into close range._ He smirked at the flash of paper that signaled a bomb. Fool him once, shame on her, fool him twice.

Neji backed near the place in the clearing where trees were more abundant. _Take the bait._ As if hearing his order, Tenten flung many kunai at him, a few explosives among the weapons. He ran from the area as fast as possible. The tags exploded, causing tree tips to bend over and tangle, some trees even falling over.

He repeated his actions on the opposite side of the clearing, the size of it getting considerably smaller.

Tenten's eye widened. _Crap!_

Neji took this moment to speed up to Tenten, setting off a scarily fast barrage of tenketsu hits.

Tenten inwardly cursed. _Damn it. He nicked some of my left arm and I need that for summoning._ _I'd better use that jutsu now before all of my tenketsu are shut off._

Tenten created as much distance between Neji and herself as possible. She started counting. _One meter. Two meters. Three meters. Four meters._ She ran around Neji in a full circle and jumped.

"Eat this!"

Tenten unfurled her scroll.

_Spin yourself until the scroll's wide enough to not fold on itself._ Her body obeyed her thoughts, spinning around as if she were the center of a sphere.

_Now assume a normal vertical position and spin clockwise. Faster. Faster. Yes!_

_Pay attention to the frequency of the gaps. Good._

_Once you've accommodated to the frequency of the gaps, summon the weapons. _She bit her thumb running it along a few seals, summoning two kunais and a scythe.

_Now throw!_

Neji looked up in amazement as hundreds of weapons made their way towards him, all aimed in the shape of a circle with him as the center point. They weren't all aimed at him, he noticed, some were aimed in around a four meter radius of himself, even as he shifted position.

He gritted his teeth and whipped out a kunai in each hand and did his best to dodge it all. He found himself punctured by various weapons, some he couldn't even name. He saw Tenten land on the ground, panting hard. Her eyes were filled with an emotion he couldn't identify.

He pulled the weapons out and started to charge toward her but she had already jumped into the air again. Tenten pulled on wires, lifting a good one third of the weapons littered on the ground. She pulled them up towards herself before throwing them at him.

Neji tried the back out of range but ended up having to have to try to deflect the weapons once again. This time, however he handled the attack better.

Tenten formed a one hand seal in front of her chest as she neared the ground. _Here goes! _

Neji looked around. He could see nothing but chakra surrounding him. He smirked. _A genjutsu. Did she really think I'd fall for that?_ He closed his eyes and concentrated. "Release!"

His smirk disappeared as the chakra wall vanished and his face met Tenten's fist.

He rammed harshly into a tree and after hearing several thwacks around him, he realized that he was pinned to a tree. He struggled against it but found that the kunai were several inches into the tree. _Crap._

Tenten ran at him. Neji concentrated at the area around his hands and the kunai burst from around them. He quickly made a few seals and vanished in a puff of smoke just as Tenten reached him.

_My plan failed!_ Tenten screamed over and over in her mind. Tenten closed her eyes and concentrated.

Neji watch her with interest from his perch in a tree. _She tricked me into thinking that complex weapon move was her ace. My reaction and reflexes were slowed after getting hit that much and was unable to react as fast when she cast that genjutsu and then aimed that punch at me, clever._

Tenten quickly spun and threw a few shuriken in Neji's direction. He jumped down and before Tenten could reach for more weapons, he quickly grabbed her arms and rammed _her_ into a tree.

With her hands pinned up by Neji's one arm and his other hand an inch from her heart, Tenten hung her head, accepting her defeat. She was tired, her stomach was complaining at her, and she was sweating like crazy.

* * *

"Cheer up Tenten." Lee gave her a soft smile over the hot tea.

Tenten groaned. "How can you say that Lee? I just lost to Neji! That means he won't spar with me _and_ I have to do whatever he wants!"

"Perhaps offering that wasn't the best thing to do, but you always have next time!"

Tenten laid her head on the tea house table. "There will be no next time! He won't accept another challenge."

Lee chuckled. "I don't know Neji to not accept a challenge."

"Then you obviously don't know Neji. He'd never involve himself in such 'trivial matters.'"

* * *

"So you won your big match."

Neji looked at Hideki. "How did you find out about that?"

Hideki grinned. "I'm very informed."

Neji narrowed his eyes at the older Hyuga. "You got Lee drunk didn't you?"

Hideki's grin grew wider. "You better believe it."

Neji made a very unNeji-like sigh. "What do you want?"

Hideki raised an eyebrow. "Want?"

"Yes," Neji replied irritably. "This is blackmail, correct?"

Hideki frowned. "No. I'm gonna give you some advice that you only get from experience." He leaned closer to Neji. "You don't meet a girl like that every day. If you throw her aside now, you'll regret it, man."

Neji eyed him. "What do you mean?"

* * *

Tenten shifted uncomfortably as she and Neji waited for Lee and Gai-sensei, which was oddly suspicious. "Neji." She felt his eyes fall on her and her whole body tingled.

"Yes?"

"You um, you won yesterday and you haven't told me what you wanted me to do."

They stared into each other's eyes for a while and Tenten grew more and more nervous as the seconds passed.

Neji closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly, as if thinking. Tenten got notion that he had already decided a long time ago. Neji opened his eyes and looked back up at her.

"I would like you to train with me from now on."

She looked at him, confused. "W-What?" she spluttered.

"I would like you to train with me from now on."

Her face grew from surprised to confused to angry. "What?! I just KNOW that you did not just say that!"

He blinked at her. "I believe I did."

She blinked back, her eyelashes fluttering dangerously. "Let me get this straight!" She ran at him until her face was inches from his, embarrassment gone. "You insult me and the name of _kunoichi_ by refusing to spar, make me train my butt off but get caught off guard by Gai-sensei and _lose_ to you and humiliate myself, have me train even harder, challenge you and fight only to lose again, have me think that I have lost all of my chances to prove myself, and you casually say you want to be sparring partners?!"

Neji's expression didn't change. "That's about it."

"You can't just! You can't! You can't—"

"I can't what?"

"You can't do that! That's not how it works!"

"That _is_ how it works. You said you would do anything if you lost and you did. I am asking you, no, _telling_ you to spar with me. Therefore, you must obey."

"What?! You can't just play with me like that!"

"I believe the term is manipulation."

There was a pause.

"So does that mean you take it back?"

"Take what back?"

"What you said, Neji. That I was destined to be weak and whatever."

Neji cocked his head. "How can I take back words that I myself don't believe."

Tenten's eyebrows furrowed, "Huh?"

Neji sighed. "Tenten, how strong do you think your past self would have imagined yourself at this point?"

She considered him for a moment. "Probably not as strong as I am," she mumbled regrettably.

He smirked. "Correct. I became stronger than you would've expected yourself to because you had the ambition of defeating me."

She narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I said before that you'd die because of carelessness because of lack of skill, correct?"

"Yeah, and?"

"This experience with me has given you a lot more skill, correct?"

Tenten didn't like where this was going. "Yeah."

"That means that I indirectly trained you, therefore meaning that it is because of me that you are as strong as you are now, therefore proving that you'd be nowhere as good as you are now without me. Am I not correct?"

Tenten gave him a dirty look. _He has the nerve to take credit for my strength?! That bastard!_

He smirked at her. "It's really simple logic, Tenten. Reverse psychology if you wanted to name it something else. I'd think you would've figured it out by now. I told you that you weren't strong and you tried hard training to prove me wrong."

"So, you don't really believe in that fate stuff?"

He scoffed at her. "That 'fate stuff' is true, only not for you, I suppose."

"You can't go making exceptions like that! The whole concept fails if you think it like that!"

He shrugged. "It makes perfect sense to me."

"That's because you're an ass! You are an ass!" She reinforced every word with a hard jab in his chest. "You are a cold, arrogant, sexist, butthole! I'll never forget this! I'll never forgive you for this! Nothing you do will ever let me forgive you for what you—"

Her shouts were ceased when his lips pressed gently onto hers. Her heart fluttered at the sensation of his cool lips against hers and everything around her faded away. She forgot her anger, all of her troubles and the irritating fact that Gai and Lee had arrived on the grounds just a few seconds ago. It was better than heaven on earth. Her daze faded when Neji pulled away.

Neji cocked his head. "Not even that?"

**_SLAP_**


End file.
